Details of the crashes and the names of the
aircrew involved appear on this page. Please contact us
if you are related to somebody on the list, or know of
a photograph of them. If original photographs or
papers are still in the family, we can help to caption
photographs and explain the codes and nicknames that
were used at the time. We appreciate the opportunity
to copy original material for the museum's archive.

The Midland Aircraft
Recovery Group has found the sites of many of the
crashes, but we are still looking for a significant
number, so we'd like to hear from anyone who can
pinpoint a crash that we've listed. We are
always looking for photographs, log books and
anecdotes relevant to the units based in the Midlands.

The
details
below are have been compiled from numerous sources of
information in the public domain over many years.
We've done our best, but errors are inevitable. Please
contact us if you have more accurate information on
any of the crashes or people listed, or can add the
names of crew that we haven't traced. Thank you.

02/01/1942 Tutor K3246 of 2 CFS hit a tree when force
landing at Warwick. F/L R Hawkins and P/O James were
injured.

03/01/1942 Wellington X9640 of 22 OTU crashed into a river
when landing on one engine at Wellesbourne
Mountford. F/Sgt G M Bigglestone and Sgt H A
McLennon RCAF were killed in the crash. Sgt C T
Martin RCAF died of his injuries on 05/01/1942. Sgt
Shoesmith and Sgt Murphy were also injured.

04/01/1942 Oxfords N4766 and R6022 of 2 CFS collided on
take off from Church Lawford. P/O Owczarski and P/O
Widawski in N4766 were slightly injured, while F/Sgt
Barley was unhurt.

09/01/1942 Tiger Moth N9158 of 14 EFTS spun into the
ground at Elmdon. Names of crew not traced.

09/01/1942 Wellington W5356 of 12 Squadron was returning
from an operation to Cherbourg on one engine when it
crashed at Wythall. Sgt D Butterworth, Sgt C E
Morrey and Sgt B Franklin were killed in the crash, while
P/O W H Burnham RNZAF died of his injuries on
11/01/1942. Sgt H B Cable and P/O A N Breck were
injured.

28/01/1942 Wellington Z1157 of 21 OTU collided with
Wellington R1165 over the bombing range. Both
aircraft were badly damaged and both crews baled out, with
the exception of the pilot of R1165, Sgt H A Taylor, who
bravely nursed his aircraft to a safe landing at
Edgehill. Z1157 crashed at Thenford. Sgt C W
Rice RAAF did not leave Z1157 and was killed – possibly in
the collision. Of the rest of his crew, Sgt A Orr
was unhurt, while Sgt Fitton and Sgt Hollingworth were
slightly injured.

29/01/1942 Wellington L7801 OX-E of 15 OTU flew into
Whichford Hill during a snow storm. The rear gunner,
Sgt A J Turtill was killed. Sgt D M Bunn was
injured. The pilot, Sgt G W Roberts, Sgt D McSheen
and three other members of the crew were unhurt.

16/02/1942 A pair of Tiger Moths from 9 EFTS
collided at Ansty. LAC Skinner was fatally injured,
while LAC Rodwell broke his left arm. The serials
may be K2598 and N5466 which collided in the air on this
date, but which were repaired.

16/02/1942 Whitley Z9229 KN-M of 77 Squadron was returning
from operations to St Nazaire with engine trouble,
possibly due to battle damage. It may have been
attempting to force land when it crashed at
Sherbourne. F/Sgt W T Connell, P/O E M Hooper, Sgt P
H Roan and Sgt J W Griffin were all killed. P/O J
Spalding baled out safely, only to be posted missing when
Whitley Z9293 KN-D was lost on a raid to Emden on
12/03/1942.

08/05/1942 Oxford V3471 of 1 FIS crashed when an engine
failed on take off from Church Lawford. Sgt Doodson
and P/O Peate were both injured.

19/05/1942 Folland Fo.108 P1777 was being flown by Neil
Daunt (known as Mike), a test pilot with Glosters, doing
engine diving trials. The aircraft lost its tail and
threw the pilot out, who managed to land safety by
parachute. Aircraft crashed near Tewkesbury.

20/05/1942 Anson AX430 21 OTU was taxied into by
Wellington DV811 at Moreton-in-Marsh. The Anson was
destroyed; no casualties.

26/05/1942 Wellington X9934 of 21 OTU was hit by
Wellington DV657 of 1446 Flight, on the ground at
Moreton-in-Marsh. The bomb load on X9934 exploded in
the fire. P/O J Clark, F/Sgt Laver and Sgt Wheeler
were injured.

02/06/1942 Turbinlite Havoc AW412 of 1456 Flight had a
tyre burst while taking off from Honiley; undercarriage
raised to stop.

02/06/1942 Wellington DV658 of 1446 Flight crashed on
overshoot at Moreton-in-Marsh. P/O K Moore RAAF and
Sgt A B Dean RAAF were unhurt. P/O Moore went on to
fly with 460 Squadron and was killed on 05/04/1943, when
Lancaster W4310 was shot down.

31/08/1942 Whitley P5100 of 24 OTU lost part of a wing in
collision with a tree. Attempted to go round again,
but stalled at Badsey. Sgt G W West and F/Sgt W S
Terwilliger RCAF were killed, while Sgt Bowman was
injured. F/Sgt Terwilliger was American.

01/09/1942 Beaufighter X7943 YD-P of 255 Squadron dived
into the ground at Snitterfield during an electrical
storm. W/O S J Johnson and Sgt R F Ellis were both
killed.

01/09/1942 Whitley BD375 of 24 OTU hit trees at
Honeybourne after both engines failed. The pilot,
Sgt S W Templar baled out successfully, but the rest of
the crew stayed in the aircraft. Sgt L S Tait was
killed, but the others survived.

24/09/1942 Wellington DV653 LT-Z of 22 OTU crashed into
the watch office at Atherstone when landing with only a
floodlight. Sgt J W Dunford and his crew were
unhurt, except for the rear gunner, Sgt M R Foran RCAF,
who was killed.

24/09/1942 Wellington DV708 of 18 OTU crashed on take off
from Bramcote when the hydraulics failed. P/O L Krempa
(Polish) and his crew were unhurt.

26/10/1942 Wellington DV785 of 22 OTU crashed at Salford
Priors on overshoot. Sgt A H Whitted, Sgt W A
Hamilton and two other members of the crew were injured.

27/10/1942 Wellington X9943 of 22 OTU was landing at
Atherstone when it collided with Wellington HF628 on the
ground. P/O P Geldart and his crew were
unhurt. Sgt K E Coats, Sgt T H Maxwell and the rest
of the crew on HF628 were also unhurt.

21/11/1942 A Wellington crashed into two Tiger Moths when
landing at Elmdon. The serial number of the
Wellington has not been traced, as it was probably
repaired. Tiger Moth T7285 of 14 EFTS is recorded as
being damaged beyond repair on this date.

22/11/1942 Oxford R6145 of 18 PAFU overshot landing and
crashed at Bretford. P/O Victor André Brayer of the
Free French air force was killed. He had escaped
from France via Morocco and Gibraltar. On joining the RAF,
he trained at Sywell and in Canada before returning to
England. He flew under the non de guerre Jean Pierre
Hinque. Memorial
page.

30/11/1942 Wellington Z1414 of 18 OTU was recalled to base
in worsening weather, but stayed in the air and did not
follow diversion instructions. Crashed at Monks
Kirby while attempting to land in poor visibility.
P/O M (or F/O H) Kolacz (Polish) was injured. Sgt L
Krukowski (Polish) was killed. P/O L Orchol
(Polish), P/O T Jencka (Polish), Sgt W Marczak (Polish)
and Sgt J Kmiecikewicz (Polish) were all unhurt. P/O
Kolacz died when his 305 Squadron Mosquito crashed on
25/05/1944. Sgt Marczuk was lost on operations to
Duisberg with 300 Squadron in April 1943. P/O Jencka
died on 17/08/1944, flying with 1586 Flight from Italy.

01/12/1942 Wellington BK250 of 12 OTU swung out of control
when taking off from Chipping Warden in a cross wind and
hit the control tower, ran over a civilian car and burnt
out against a hangar. Pilot, Sgt B F McMurchy RCAF
was unhurt. Sgt H Walters and Sgt E T O’Donoghue
were seriously injured and died the next day. F/Sgt
D J Phillips RCAF and Sgt G A Hutchinson were also
injured. Two civilians were killed in the hangar,
but their names have not been traced. In all, 24
people were injured, including a WAAF in the control
tower, who received burns.

02/12/1942 Oxford V3581 of 18 PAFU crashed during night
flying training at Church Lawford. New Zealand pilot
Sgt W F Irwin died of his injuries on 18th December.

05/12/1942 Wellington DV563 of 21 OTU undershot landing in
a down-draught and crashed at Lower Tysoe. P/O D W Taylor
and his crew were unhurt.

20/12/1942 Wellington R1344 of 21 OTU caught fire in the
air when the photo flashes exploded. Most of the
crew baled out, but the pilot, Sgt J D Muir, crash landed
at Compton Wynyates as the wireless operator, Sgt R G
Percival, had not responded. Sadly, the wireless
operator was not saved.